1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates protective padding and more particularly relates to recycled protective tiling.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The most common injuries at recreational facilities such as playgrounds and sporting arenas are attributed to falls. Such injuries include head trauma, fractures and sprains, some leaving long term disability. Children very often run on concrete slabs or loose gravel, while others play on swings, carrying them high above the ground. During incidents in which the child loses control or balance, the ground material can prove to be very unforgiving.
Conventional methods of minimizing injury from falls include padding the ground with dense material such as closed cell foam. This type of padding commonly comes in lengthy sheets that are cut to size. The sheets are placed over the ground, regardless of the composition. For example, closed cell foam pads are often placed over loose gravel in the same manner that they are placed over concrete slab. Unfortunately, the underlying ground material can affect the overall effectiveness of the protective padding.
Closed cell foam pads most typically have a planar bottom and top without any recesses. While this conventional design provides means for effectively positioning and maintaining coverage of a concrete slab, if the same foam pad is placed on loose gravel or rocks, it will not be secured and may cause further personal injury from movement of the protective covering. Additionally, when closed cell foam pads are placed on uneven surfaces such as gravel, the foam pads take the shape of the underlying surface, creating an uneven activity area that may provoke falls from tripping. Conventional closed cell foam padding also tends to become slippery when wet from inclement weather or nearby sprinklers as water commonly pools on the flat surface thereof.
There are also conventional tiles available that are made from reprocessed or recycled rubber, for example, from shredded rubber automobile tires. However, such conventional tiles do not interlock with one another and may separate, or buckle, leaving either an exposed area of the supporting surface on which the tiles are laid, or an uneven surface, which may cause injury to a child playing on the tiled surface.
The present invention provides a novel rubberized padding device that overcomes the inherent disadvantages found in the conventional designs.